My F.E.C. = Future Eternal Companion

My Mystery Man

My sister, Misty, sent me a text the other morning telling me she had a story to tell me.... Misty has this darling little three year old (who is almost 4..) and she is quite funny! The things she can come up with just kill me!

You see... Misty has always had a great imagination and she passed this same talent on to both of her children! Gavin and Tasha are GREAT at entertaining themselves and playing. They both have wild imaginations and can play pretend better than any other children I know. The stories and scenarios they come up with are great!!

Back to the original point of this post....

Misty sent me a text telling me she had a story to tell me. So of course I replied with... Okay, let's hear it..... I don't think I could have ever prepared myself for what was coming... The story goes a little something like this:

Tasha walked into Misty's bedroom and sat on her bed to talk to her. She asked, "Mom, who are all of my uncles?" So Misty told her who all of them were... to which Tash asked, "Will I get anymore uncles?" So Misty told Tasha that she would get one more uncle. Eventually Aunt Bee (that's me..) would get married and he will be her last uncle. Well.. with Tasha.. everyone has to have a name! And if you don't know their name, you have to make up one, or give them one. So Tasha asked Misty what her last uncle's name would be... to which Misty responded with, "I don't know Tash, we don't know who he is." So she said... "Well can't we give him a name?" So Misty said, "Sure! Shall we call him Brindi's Handsome Prince, for now?" Tasha's reaction: "No, I think his name is Pie-on-a-Potato."

What was my reaction? Oh, I almost died laughing! I had tears streaming down my face I was laughing so hard! However, I said to Misty, "Oh great! Now I'm really never going to get married! Not when he finds out that's the kind of name he is getting when he marries me!"

So, Mr. Pie-on-a-Potato, (whoever you are) you and I will be verrrry happy together. For eternity. I am dreadfully sorry for the name you've been given. But I really, really, really hope you can look past that unfortunate name and love me anyway.

Love,

The Future Mrs. Pie-on-a-Potato.

Things I've learned while lifeguarding at Dimple Dell:

    

I thought the Front Desk was always the best place to "people watch"... but I have recently realized that the pool is also an excellent source for these gems!! Ha! So here is a list of things that I've learned since becoming a guard-

1- The couples that fake bake together, stay together.

2- It is totally acceptable to let your three year old roam and wander to the deeper end if you're standing in the shallow end with your capris rolled up and the sleeves of your hoodie pushed up..

3- Lifeguards are just glorified and over-paid babysitters.

4- Twelve and thirteen year old girls now-a-days are wearing the skimpiest bikinis... seriously, moms? Yeah... that's definitely the message you want your little girls to be putting out there. Congratulations on the Best Mom of the Year Award. NOT.

5- It is also totally acceptable for really heavy women to be wearing these same bikinis and let everything just hang out... Are these moms sharing swimsuits with their daughters now?

6- No matter what age you are... moobs are NOT attractive! --unless, of course, you've got a mullet to go with those moobs... then it's just straight up classy!!

7- More PDA is shown at a pool than in High School hallways... and by adults in their late 20s - early 30s. You freaks are known to all of the guards as "the gross couple over there".

8- Everything gets blamed on the Head Guard. (-or the front desk.)

9- In a matter of a millisecond a kid will forget you just whistled at them and told them to stop running.

10- Being cooped up in the guardroom with someone you don't like makes it the longest 15 minute break... EVER!

11- Being on 15 minute rotations makes you live your life in 15 minute increments.

12- If a child can't tell you their name... they are not old enough to be in the pool by themselves.

13- If it's not a scandalous bikini... then basketball shorts and a T-shirt are the new swimsuit for girls....

14- If you don't run to the slide it might disappear in the five extra seconds it would take you to get there... yup.. us lifeguards like to do magic tricks like that.. watch out! ;)

15- A wet white T-shirt over a bikini doesn't hide a thing...

16- Yellow T-shirts are also see-through...

17- The people you can't stand visit the pool more often then anyone else.

18- Lap swimmers get really mad when they have to share a lane. -they also get mad when they are asked to move for a swim lesson.

19- When the pool is dead the guards play "I spy" with each other to keep them awake.

20- Lifeguards are definitely a different breed of humans....

This is sometimes what i feel
like I'm working with...

Half Birthday....

Today was my half birthday!!! Yes, I am weird, i LOVE celebrating half birthdays! :) I love celebrating birthdays, too.. But I think half birthdays are more fun!! :) People don't expect to hear happy half birthday!

I have always hated having a birthday in December.. (sorry to any of you who have December birthdays and love it...) when i was little all my friends with summer birthdays got to have fun parties outside and in pools or at parks and such... most of mine were indoors... playing those lame party games that everyone got sick of within the first five seconds! (Thank you mom for trying anyway...) However... the perk to having a birthday in December... is having a HALF birthday in JUNE!! :)

I'll be honest... I love June! I'm not sure why it's my favorite month... but it is! The weather is usually perfect! Not too hot, not too cool. Its the first month we officially start busting out all the summer things! Summer activities, summer outfits, summer foods and treats, summer vacations, etc. I love the BBQs, the family dinners outside, pasta salad, the bright colored clothing i wear, my billions of pairs of flip flops, swim suits, weekend get-aways to my house at Bear Lake, laying out, snow cone stands everywhere, popcicles and otter pops, boating, wakeboarding, all the flowers, and all the outdoor weddings! And I am sure there are many other things i am forgetting about!! :)

But just for a second lets focus on the last thing i put... I LOVE outdoor wedding receptions! They are beautiful!! ---- We all know most girls plan their weddings when they are little... luckily we change our minds about some of the things we want! ;) ---- But i have always wanted my wedding to be in June, on a Friday, and outside. When i was a sophomore in high school i would always tell people i wanted to get married on June 3rd and when i was twenty-three and a half... During my senior year i figured out what year i would be 23 and a half... (and it happened to be on a Friday... How perfect!) haha But that year i had a few teachers predict that i would be married within a year of graduating... to which i would reply... No! I'm going to go to two years of college, go on a mission, be home for a year, do more schooling, and THEN get married. On June third, two-thousand eleven.. 

HA!! My how quickly plans change! :) I only did ONE year of college... (then went to a year of hair school- which was the best decision ever, by the way!) And as I'm sure you all know.. I didn't go on a mission. But... there is one goal that I have not missed or messed up.... yet. hahaha

Today is June 3rd, 2010... and I am now twenty-two and a half... meaning i have exactly ONE YEAR until my "dream wedding date"... One year to: find someone i can't live without, date him, be engaged to him, plan a wedding, and get married... haha!! To answer your question- No, I honestly don't think it will happen.. So in that case, if "Plan A" really doesn't work out, i have come up with a "Plan B" for June 3rd, 2011... I want to go through the temple and receive my endowment! Either way.. something HUGE and super special will happen on June 3rd, 2011. I think it's a great alternative!! :)

Life hasn't gone exactly the way i had planned... Four years ago I thought I had it all figured out... But... circumstances and opportunities come up, things happen, and sometimes even mistakes are made... all of which change our plans a little bit. However, I am extremely grateful for the way my life has worked out. I have some pretty amazing friends. I've learned very valuable lessons. I have learned who i am and who i want to be. I have learned what kind of guy i DON'T want to marry, and what kind of guy i DO. I have learned that in order to attract that kind of guy, i MUST be that kind of girl. I have learned how grateful i am to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. And I have learned how much my Heavenly Father truly loves me! I am also sooo grateful that Heavenly Father knows what is best for me. I might think i know how my life should go, but in the end, i am always glad He took the reins.

Hate Mail...

Dear Summer:

Where have you been? I think you took too long of a vacation! Your appearance is WAY past due. So I am really hoping you are here to stay... and you plan on staying for awhile.

Yes, yes I do realize I live in Utah and the weather is bound to change in 5 minutes... However.. you sure have been getting lazy the past few years. You think it is acceptable to show up late and leave early. Not cool! Please remember you have a lot of people counting on you to show up! No more late comings or you will be forced to stay and not get paid overtime! Shape up!! Mmkay?

Thanks a bunch!!

Love,

Brindi

I have a family here on Earth...

How thankful I am for the knowledge of Eternal Families.

And how grateful I am for....

 

 

Temples.

They make it possible to have an eternal family.

One of my favorite Primary Songs is: I have a family here on Earth.

(I'm pretty sure everything we ever need to know was taught to us in Primary.)

I have a family here on Earth.

They are so good to me.

I want to share my life with them,

through all eternity.

Families can be together forever.

Through Heavenly Father's Plan.

I always want to be with my own family.

And the Lord has shown me how I can.

The Lord has shown me how I can.

While I am in my early years,

I'll prepare most carefully.

So I can marry in God's temple,

for eternity.

Families can be together forever.

Through Heavenly Father's Plan.

I always want to be with my own family.

And the Lord has shown me how I can.

The Lord has shown me how I can.

As things have happened through the last few days.. weeks.. and months.. I have really come to realize how truly grateful I am for Heavenly Father's Plan. Each of us has a specific purpose in this life. A reason we are here. A reason why we've been placed in our specific families. And a reason we are who we are.

All of us have different situations. Whether they are good or bad. All of us have different trials. Our goal is to learn what we can. Become the best version of ourselves we can. And return to our Father in Heaven. This will never be an easy task. All that is asked of us is to do our best.

We don't always understand the trials we are given. We don't always know why bad things happen to good people. Why the ones we love are always taken way too soon. And we don't always know how to get through our hard times.

We must remember that our Heavenly Father is always. ALWAYS. ALWAYS. here for us. He is always here to comfort us. He is always here to listen to us. He is always here to guide us in the right direction. He is always here to help pick us up when we feel like there is no more go left in us. He is always here. He loves us. More than anyone else ever could. But... We must let Him in.

It has been a rough week. When it rains it pours, right? Our family friend, Blaine, is still battling cancer, with daily radiation treatments and chemotherapy. We had another dear friend, Susan Hunter, go in for pretty intense heart surgery recently. We attended a funeral for an amazing guy in my parents' ward who was way to young to go. And this past weekend we found out my cousin's little 2 month old baby is terminal, with SMA. Given anywhere from a day to 8 months left.

We are constantly looking for the sunshine under this cloud of gray. It has been hard. And a lot of prayers are coming from this house. We know our Father in Heaven is looking over us. And we are all sooo grateful to be LDS and have the full knowledge of the gospel.

I am so grateful for MY eternal family. For how close we are. Not only how close my immediate family is, but how close I am to my aunts, uncles, and cousins. I am also extremely grateful for all of my friends who are constantly here, looking out for me, checking up on me, listening to me, and being a shoulder to cry on. You are amazing! And I know I could never get through any of this without any of you. Thanks for being you, for being my distractions when I need them the most, and mostly for letting me fall apart. I love you all.

And finally.. I am going to leave you with one of my favorite poems.

Footprints in the Sand

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,
"You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during
the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one
set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most,
you have not been there for me?"

The Lord replied,
"The times when you have
seen only one set of footprints in the sand,
is when I carried you."

  -Mary Stevenson
(you can find the original poem here... http://www.footprints-inthe-sand.com/index.php?page=Poem/Poem.php )

Missionaries...

WHY am I always writing to a missionary?

I don't understand.

Do I really like all the money spent on postage stamps?

Or packages?

Or is it the long wait in between hearing from them?

I'm impatient.

Can't possibly be the wait I enjoy.

So what is it?

Because, honestly, none of it sounds pleasant.

I have written a lot of missionaries. My first experience was when I was eight, with my sister's husband ("Her Missionary" at the time), Greg. I probably wrote him two letters while he was gone, but for the sake of the story, it counts! haha... Then my next experience was with my brother, Kade, like eight years later. I wrote him a letter maybe once a month, maybe every other month, whatever.. I mostly e-mailed him every week. I also wrote to a friend's cousin on his mission. Chris Downey and I would write every so often, but it eventually became only e-mailing. Then I only ever e-mailed Brent Jessop.. All of this e-mailing was a BAD idea! I got used to how great e-mails were! And now most missions have the rule that if you're not imediate family.. NO e-mailing. POO.  :(

Now.. I've had a few friends that I have written who stayed stateside, or had the pouch mail option, and only required the 44 cent stamps! Thank you, boys and girls!! However... two of the missionaries I have written to the most went to Australia. That's a 98 cent stamp, kids!!

I know, it really doesn't seem like a big deal... But let's just say you send a letter to the missionary once a month.. that's 98 cents a month.. equaling $11.76 a year.. and $23.52 for the 2 years... That's not taking into account the $45 it is to send a package.. So say you send a letter once a month and one package... That is approximately $70 dollars in two years.

 

Okay... let's look at a missionary in The States, shall we? Say you write to that missionary once a month that is $5.28 a year and $10.56 for two years... Even if you write that missionary twice a month it's cheaper than sending ONE letter to Australia! And packages.. OY! They are only $11 (roughly) if they stay in The States!! So two letters a month and one package would only approximate to $35! HALF as much!!

So I ask you again,

WHY?

Why do I LOVE writing missionaries?

Maybe its the joy I get each time I see that amazing white envelope with my name on it..

Maybe its how happy I am when I get pictures..

Maybe its how cute some missionaries are in their letters..

Maybe its the way they get mad when they don't hear from you for a little while...

Maybe its the follow up letter.. reminding you they are still waiting to hear back from you...

      -Thank you, Chris Gerona!! ;)

Maybe its the way their letters turn a terrible day into an AMAZING one...

Maybe its how glad they are to just get any kind of mail...

Maybe its how grateful they are to get a package from someone other than their mom!...

      -Even if it is a cheesey Valentine's Day package filled with crap... haha

Maybe its the hope of them coming back from Australia with that sexy accent!!..

      -Thanks for ruining that one, Brett!! Come on, Chris.. I still have faith you'll pick it up!! ;)

Maybe its the way they make me smile with no effort...

Maybe its the way their words can fix any problem I'm having...

Maybe its that I can come up with more reasons I LIKE writing them, than reasons its a pain!

However....

Good news kids!!! My latest victim will be home in ONE YEAR!! Yes! 12 fast sundays!! And then... I'm DONE! Done writing missionaries!! Well, writing missionaries consistantly! haha I'll still write the occasional letter to any cousins out on missions. But I will be done with having friends gone!

Most of my friends think its funny to tease me and say I'll find another missionary to write.. But I won't. I really am done!! Someone hold me to that!! haha

I LOVE MISSIONARIES!!!

Rough days.. I'm sure there are more to come..

I'm having a really hard time with this.. and I'm not even sure where to begin!! I'm doing my best to type this through tears.. so please bare with me.

When I was little I always seemed to get along better with adults than people my own age. My best friend was Blaine Richardson... He is one of my many second dads! He lived in the house just east of mine.. and his kids all grew up and hung out with my older sisters... His daughter Jeri was mad when i wasn't born on her birthday.. and Jeri and her mom made me a super cute quilt with bunnies on it that i still have to this day.. Our families were pretty close! And I remember anytime I'd go over to their house crying, Blaine would always wipe away my tears and tell me he was keeping them in his wallet for when i'd need them at my wedding. (Misty claims he used to keep her tears too... but i'm pretty sure he doesn't still have them... I am more loved...) Whenever I was mad at my parents I would always run away to his house! Blaine loved me! And he was my favorite person!! I would go over to his house and just talk to him! We were the best of buds! And I would tell everyone that Blaine was my best friend!!

I can't remember when they moved out of their house... I know my sisters were grown and I was still pretty young.. But I was devastated! My best friend was leaving!! But he had promised to stay in touch!! 

A few years later he got remarried... I think her name was Nancy?? haha He became active in the church and went through the temple... My parents were invited to go through with him and they said it was a really neat experience! A little bit later he and his wife and her kids all came up to Bear Lake with us! I hadn't seen him in a little while so it was so fun getting to spend so much time with him! It was such a fun trip!! And so many fun memories! Like Blaine tipping the cannoe over and losing his super expensive glasses in the water! We still haven't found them... and it has been YEARS!!!

We heard a few years ago that Blaine and Nancy had gotten a divorce... :( We lost contact with him for awhile, so we weren't really up to date.. We tried finding him so we could send him a wedding invitation to Kade and Tara's wedding... but all the contact information we had wasn't good anymore.... My parents finally ran into their oldest son about a year ago at church. Greg's wife's sister lives in our stake so they were there for something and my mom ran into him in the hall... she got somewhat of an update on Blaine.. But a little while ago... Misty found Jeri on Facebook (or Jeri found Misty... I'm not sure which way it happened...) But it has now been easier to keep in contact!!

Blaine got remarried to a darling lady, named Iola! And he is so happy! They are the Sunday School teachers to the Young Single Adults of their Ward! What a hard calling!! haha But he is still active in the church and even his oldest son Greg has become active and now holds church callings!! It has been wonderful to see such great growth in this family!!!

Now that you've had the background and know a little about Blaine... here comes the sad part...

Yesterday morning I was sitting at home and I get a text from my mom---

Mom: Dad and I are going to see Blaine Richardson in the hospital tonight. What do you have going on? Do you want to come?

Me: Of course I want to come! Why is he in the hospital??

Mom: He has a brain tumor and they are doing surgey tomorrow morning.

Me: What? How did you find this out??

Mom: Jeri said something about it to Misty on Facebook this morning. So I called her and got more information. I'll tell you when I get home.

Side note: THANK GOODNESS FOR FACEBOOK. I know that sounds so ridiculous.. and some people think Facebook is a HUGE waste... but honestly without it... I am afraid we would have never known...

So I had pretty much all day to stew over this information and freak out. I was a mess. My mom had gotten all the information that Jeri had when she called her yesterday morning... So when she got home she filled me in. Blaine had had a bad headache for 3 weeks.. and on Sunday his headache was so bad that he didn't go to church. Iola came home from church and Blaine couldn't feel the right side of his face, so she rushed him to the hospital thinking Blaine was having a stroke. The doctors did a CAT scan and found a shadow, so they did an MRI to further check it out. Sure enough... Brain tumor. The tumor was lemon sized, and the doctor wasn't certain it was or wasn't cancerous... so he told them as soon as they got it out he would send it for testing. The doctor said the tumor was in a pretty good spot, between his brain and the skull so he thought the surgery would go well. They scheduled his surgery and had him on steriods all day yesterday to help shrink his brain to make surgery and his recovery easier...

My parents and I went to visit him last night! It was the first time I had seen him in years! And he still looks the same as I have always remembered him! Terrible surcumstances to reunite in... but I'm so grateful we went to go see him! He was joking around with us and was so positive about the whole situation! He told me he still had my tears, but he didn't have his wallet with him so I couldn't cry while I was at the hopital visiting him. He told me I had grown up to be so beautiful and asked me when I was getting married... and told me he better be invited or I was going to be in BIG trouble!! I assured him I was never getting married, so he really had no invitation to wait for. But then I told him that of course he would be invited, he was my best friend!! And my mom added in... yeah, you're like another dad to her, you better be there! We stayed and bugged him for a long time, talking about old memories and catching up on new things. When it was time to go we all gave him a big hug and told him good luck in the morning. I got a kiss on the cheek and an i love you with my hug! Something I will always keep very dear to my heart.

He went in for surgery this morning... The doctor removed the tumor.... or I guess, technically, what he could of the tumor... I haven't gotten the full detailed story of everything yet.. but when my mom called me... she said it wasn't all as hopeful as we had once thought it was going to be. It turns out the tumor IS cancerous and spreading. They won't be able to cure it. But they think they might be able to hold it off for a while. One word: DEVASTATED. How long is a while? Years? Months? Is this really happening?

Blaine is a fighter! And I know he is going to try his hardest to beat this. I know all of my prayers will include him in them. And all of my family's prayers as well. I hate being so helpless and knowing that praying my guts out is the only thing I can do.

Blaine, I love you! You promised me last night that you would be at my wedding. And I want you there in person.

I know this post is a mess. I'm sorry. I'm sure no one will understand, but i really just needed to vent and get somethings out and off my chest. thanks to everyone enduring this and caring enough to read. PLEASE keep Blaine and his family in your prayers.